Downsizing the collection

I'm world coin type collector and I would like to downsize my over 3000 coins collection a bit. I have saved almost every different coin type or subtype which I have got. It's a bit hard to throw some coins away so I gladly hear your views as well!

There's no need to keep coin museum in home but I enjoy to look my coins very often. Here's some options I have thought to get rid of:

-lowballs. Most of them are not rare and are actually ugly and corroded.

-subtypes. I don't collect different dates so why to collect minor differences in designs? I have ca. 50 subtypes in my collection.

-other minor differences. Composition changes, word changes like "IND IMP" and such.

-effigies of queens and kings. QEII is getting older time after time and they have to modify the effigy. I have kept every new type which has born this way. Maybe I would just keep at least one different effigy but not every example of whole set of 1p-£2.

-NCLT:s. I want to keep the Finnish ones but maybe sell the other ones. There are just a few of this category, so not big deal.

-Medieval and ancient coins. I have several but the bulk of the collection is modern. Maybe one Chinese and one Roman etc. would be enough.

I gladly hear your opinions too and also if you have already cleaned your own collection!

After 20 years of not actively doing anything with my collection, I decided to pick it up again a few years ago, and made similar decisions as you are considering now:

• limit my collecting scope to a region (Europe & overseas territories), period (1900-1950), purpose (circulation coins), and composition (no gold)
  
• swap away the golden coins except for one from my home country
  
• swap away NCLT's except for two from my home country
  
• swap away everything < 1900, just keeping a few oddities for the fun of them
  
• keep most of the modern stuff, but focusing on completing series that I started and not beginning new series
  
• keeping variants for some countries, and ignoring variants for others
  

Occassionally, i get coins from people, or pick up circulation money when abroad, and basically those are the only new series that I'll start.

I started collecting after inheriting my grandfathers collection. The core of the collection were 19th century Austro-Hungarian coin but there were also a few hundred modern pre-euro 20th century coins. I also had a few hundred of my own 20th century European coins I got from family members.

In the first few months of collection I realized I don't care about modern common low value pocket change. I like old coins from historical periods that interest me (ancient Rome, medieval Hungary etc.) so I downsized about 70% of my collection and sold or traded several hundred modern coins in large lots.

Right now my collection focuses on four areas:
- Habsburg Austrian & Hungarian coins from the Franz Joseph I. era (all metals)
- Medieval coins that circulated in Croatia, especially Dalmatia (all metals)
- Hungarian silver coins from 1926. to 1947.
- Large (over 25mm) ancient Roman coins (sestertius, as etc.)

I also sometimes keep a coin if I like its design or if it has high value. I like to keep my collection small in size and focus on rarity, value and history over quantity. For a long time my entire collection fit into a single album however recently it outgrew the album so I'll probably downsize again soon.

I'm currently in the process of downsizing my collection myself- mainly that means swapping away post-WWII coins and doubles for pre-1945 coin types I don't have yet.

When it comes to ancient coins and post mid 20th century NCLTs I have them on my swaplist, except for a few like my 1980s 100 Franc commemoratives.

I am still in the phase of the more the better haha!

Same story here - work in progress!

Quite similar to what I did years ago:

- Got rid of lowballs. I actually put them in a box so my kids can have a look at them if they are bored. The cheaper types I now have in XF or better.
- Got rid of commemoratives amd NCLT's. I now mostly stick to common circulation coins. Some are circulating commemoratives. There is no absolute rule here.
- Got rid of minor variations. For example copper-nickel or nickel-plated steel, I don't really see the difference. But I also got rid of all those redundant types that the Vatican and San Marino changed yearly and kept one of every denomination. I also don't care much for minor variation Euro coins. As for QE2, I generally kept the different effigy ones as they were updated every decade or so. She must be made out of kryptonite with so many decades of her reign.
- I actually still don't own all Danish 10 & 20 Kroner types with changing shields and M2 effigies. Maybe it's more economical to wait until these are demonetised.

Great thoughts everyone, thanks!

Jokinen, I have similar thoughts with Danish circulation commems and other high denomination coins. I even exchanged my Finnish 100mk silver coins into euros in Bank of Finland before 2012. Now I have acquired them back at a silver price, which means about 40-50% profit per coin.

Spanish pesetas will drop in value next (exchange ends in 2020) but I have so few of them that I see no idea to do that again.

Quote: "Trp"​Jokinen, I have similar thoughts with Danish circulation commems and other high denomination coins. I even exchanged my Finnish 100mk silver coins into euros in Bank of Finland before 2012. Now I have acquired them back at a silver price, which means about 40-50% profit per coin.
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Offtopic, but this is an interesting thought for 2€ collectors, especially for those who collect by year. :)

Yes numinis ​​, €2 collecting by date has become quite pricey. As some countries issue all the coins nowadays only in a collector set, no one can pick them from circulation or even rolls/bags.